Before you put the Christmas decoration away....

The more thought you put in, this year the more relaxed it will be next year

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I love Christmas time, it is truly one of my favorite time of the year. I like to decorate the home but I keep it simple. I keep in mind that I have to take it all down again. I usually start right after Thanks giving.

We do own a lot of Christmas decorations and ornaments. Most of the pieces where hand me downs from parents and friends. A lot of them we received as Christmas gifts. We have an ornament from each year from 1977 till about 1997 and lots more. Our tree is always very colorful and we love it that way. But there are also Christmas decoration in our collection, no one really knows or remembers how they made it in our house. They look cute but do I really love them or care for them? Sometimes I put them up for my kids because I know they like it. But would I buy them for myself? Most likely not.

After Christmas is the perfect time to organize Christmas decorations

As yourself, did I enjoy this piece? Do I want to put it up again next year? Do I have room to store it? If I can't answer at least two this questions with yes. I will show my gratitude for the time this piece brought me joy and then I will part with it and donate it.

I also look carefully at each piece and see if it isn't broken. If it is broken and I can't fix it, it will still be broken next Christmas and most likely not bring me real joy. It might even bring up some negative emotions. If something triggers negative emotions it isn't worth keeping. So I will trash that piece including the negative thought that go with it. This is easier said than done, sometimes it helps to go through that step with a professional Organizer.

Don't keep Christmas decoration because you feel like you have too.

Then I sort my decoration in categories. My categories might be different from yours, your way of setting up might be different too. But I found that it is easiest for me if I start with a November Christmas box. I have two kids and I most years I enjoy to prepare them an advent calendar. If time allows I sometimes craft them a new calendar but often I keep it simple by just keeping a couple advent calendar in this box. I like to get started on it early. I usually start buying little fillers early in November. In this box I also store a few favorite Christmas books and our elf on the shelf, cookie cutters and a few outdoor Decoration which I use to decorate my front door. This box has everything I need before I need all the other decorations.

Have a November Christmas box with all the early Christmas items you need.

My next one is the outdoor Christmas box that's where we store all our lights and other outdoor decoration we have. Which is usually the decoration we need shortly after Thanksgiving. I make sure I put only the light strings back in the box which work a 100%. Replace the broken bulbs so it is ready to go next year. You often get great deals right after Christmas. I also put the extension cables and timer in that box. I put a note in the how to put the lights up.

Then there are two ore more boxes one the display decoration Christmas Box and one the Christmas Tree Ornament Box. You might have to use more than one box for each of these categories depend on how many items you own. In the display Christmas box I have anything that I would put onto a shelf, cabinet or on a table. In the tree ornament box goes everything what goes on the tree including the Christmas tree lights.

Always label your bins and boxes, so you don't have to find all of them to find what you're looking for.

I label all my boxes to quickly recognize them. But you can also just give them numbers. You can even create an digital or handwritten Inventory list. If its digital save it under a Christmas folder your Computer. If it is handwritten put it in a envelope and tape it on the box or put it in a command center file folder. Make sure it is a place that makes sense and you know where to look for.

A couple years ago I invested in red storage Boxes they where on sale right after Christmas. And I love them as they are easy to recognize. Christmas supplies are the only things I store in big red plastic Container.

Get the perfect size bins!

Organizing Christmas decoration is absolutely worth the time. How do you keep your items organizer? What do you wish have done last year to make this years setup go easier? Please comment below.